The Junction

The Junction opened in 1990 as an arts and entertainment centre for young people. A plain brick building with a pitched roof it was built on the site of the cattle market. The auditorium had retractable seating for 240, but with a standing capacity of 400 it was mainly used as a music venue and night club, proving so popular that it was extended after just two years to 850 standing. It is heavily soundproofed to allow the use of amplified music without disturbance to other activities.

From 1998 plans were developed to extend the facilities further, a £7.5m development programme culminating in the 2004 refurbishment of the original building (now Junction 1, or The Stripe, still a music venue) and, in 2005, the creation of two further auditoria (Junctions 2 & 4) in a new building, adjacent.

The new building is timber-clad in larch and profiled metal. Front of house the café-bar is glazed to double height, and is dominated by staircase, which gives access to the theatre auditorium. Junction 2 (nicknamed The Shed) is the first purpose-built public theatre in Cambridge since the 1930s. Inspired by the Georgian courtyard theatre the auditorium has a single rake of bleacher seating, enabling a variety of theatre formats (in-the-round, end on, etc), and is surrounded on three sides by two tiers of balconies. The flat stage has adjustable masking rather than a proscenium, and a sprung dance floor. There is no fly tower, but the tension wire grid extends over the whole auditorium. The steel structure of the room is left exposed, in-filled with Fletton bricks in Flemish bond, and the balcony fronts are steel mesh.

With a sprung floor that matches the dimensions of the stage in Junction 2, Junction 4, alongside, is designed as a rehearsal room and community space for workshops and classes. Other facilities in the new building include Junction 5, the Arts and New Technology Laboratory, and further breakout rooms to support the centre’s use as a conference venue.

Assisted by Lottery funding and money from a Section 106 planning agreement, the 2005 facilities will enable The Junction to establish itself as a centre of excellence for contemporary culture, with a growing programme of music, drama and dance, and supporting innovative new artists and local community groups.